Welcome

Welcome to the blog of the Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences at the University of Northampton. This will keep you up to date with both student and staff activities.

The Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences includes staff with interests in biological sciences, conservation, ecology, environmental sciences, environmental statistics, geography and waste management. We offer a range of degree programmes and have a number of postgraduate research students. For more information about studying with us please visit http://www.northampton.ac.uk/.

Friday, 29 January 2016

Students assess wheelchair access on campus

First year Geography students have been carrying out fieldwork to evaluate the accessibility of Avenue Campus for
wheelchair users. This relates to work carried out in class on
'geographies of disability'. Before conducting the exercise, students
had the opportunity
to interview members of the University's Wheelchair Basketball team, to find out more about the experiences of wheelchair users.

Working in groups, students have taken a 30-minute walk with a wheelchair around an
everyday route on campus. Everyone has had an opportunity to push, and
be pushed in, the wheelchair. During the walk, students made fieldnotes
reflecting upon how familiar everyday spaces can look and feel very
different from the perspective of a wheelchair user.

Students then measured
footpath and corridor widths, kerb heights, and slope gradients. These
measurements were compared to Department for Transport guidance about accessible pedestrian environments.

Each group is now working hard to prepare an annotated map and summary of their key
findings, ready for assessment. This exercise is designed to help students engage with recent
academic research about geographies of disabilities. The project also
provides a wealth of data which is really valued by the University of
Northampton, as we seek to make the campus an accessible and inclusive place for all.